The study, conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, tested 166,000 people ages 16 to 65 and found that Americans ranked 16 out of 23 industrialized countries in literacy and 21 out of 23 in numeracy. Both those tests have been given periodically and while U.S. results have held steady for literacy, they have dropped for numeracy. In a new test of "problem solving in technology rich environments," the U.S. ranked 17 out of 19.

Skills Testing

Workers in Spain and Italy were the least skilled among the 24 developed countries surveyed by the OECD for proficiency in literacy and numeracy

Related Article

"These findings should concern us all. They show our education system hasn't done enough to help Americans compete—or position our country to lead—in a global economy that demands increasingly higher skills," U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a statement.

The results show a marked drop in competitiveness of U.S. workers of younger generations vis a vis their peers. U.S. workers aged 45 to 65 outperformed the international average on the literacy scale against others their age, but workers aged 16 to 34 trail the average of their global counterparts. On the numeracy exam, only the oldest cohort of baby boomers, ages 55 to 65, matched the international average, while everyone younger lagged behind their peers—in some cases by significant margins.

In most cases, younger American employees outperformed their older co-workers—but their skills were weaker compared with those of other young people in OECD countries. By contrast, some countries are improving with each generation. Koreans aged 55 to 65 ranked in the bottom three against their peers in other countries. But Koreans aged 16-24 were second only to the Japanese.

The results show that the U.S. has lost the edge it held over the rest of the industrial world over the course of baby boomers' work lives, said
Joseph Fuller,
a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School who studies competitiveness. "We had a lead and we blew it," he said, adding that the generation of workers who have fallen behind their peers would have a difficult time catching up.

"We have a substantial percentage of the work force that does not have the basic aptitude to continue to learn and to make the most out of new technologies," Mr. Fuller said. "That manifests itself in lower rates of productivity growth, and it's productivity growth that drives real wage growth."

Though America is still home to the greatest number of globally ranked universities, even college graduates didn't fare well against their international peers in the assessment. Americans with college and graduate degrees tested behind the global average of their counterparts when it came to numeracy and solving problems using a computer.

Americans with the most cerebral jobs—those that demanded high levels of literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills—fared the best against the rest of the world. The potential problem lies in the growing complexity of traditional middle-class jobs in fields like manufacturing and health care. Workers unable to grow into those jobs will lose their positions or be stranded with stagnant wages. The result: an economy that continues to bifurcate.

Those left behind will ultimately drag everyone down, said Deborah L. Wince-Smith, president and CEO of the Council on Competitiveness, a coalition of CEOs, university presidents and labor union leaders. If we continue down this road "we will see more and more people that are not employed and they will be a huge drain on the economy in terms of entitlements," she said.

In some ways, the new results were no surprise. A 2012 survey by Harvard Business School of nearly 7,000 of its graduates found that more than half predicted a decline in U.S. competitiveness in the next three years.

"We're not surprised that we're below average, but we are particularly taken by and sobered by the trajectory of the U.S.," said
Michael Porter,
head of the school's Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness. "There has just been a massive deterioration" in the competitiveness of the generations following the boomers, he said.

The U.S. Department of Education wrote two reports in response to the OECD finding, but neither has been released due to the government shutdown, a spokesman for the DOE said Tuesday.

Corrections & Amplifications A survey of 7,000 Harvard Business School graduates was conducted by the school. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said it was conducted for the school's Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness.

The problem is a very simple one to solve and has been repeated many times. Throw more taxpayer money at teachers and administrators and our problems will be over. This along with declining test standards designed to be all inclusive{per the democrat style} will surly solve the problem. Be sure to include the very important subjects like black history, alternative life styles, womens issues, and trans gender appreciation as these subjects will set us apart from the rest of the world that studies math and science and qualify the student to be a community organizer or engage in some other useless endeavor.

"These findings should concern us all. They show our education system hasn't done enough to help Americans compete—or position our country to lead—in a global economy that demands increasingly higher skills," U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a statement.

Is he kidding?? Sounds like a terrible performance review... for himself

What good does it do to get an education when your companies won't continually up-grade it's workers education nor give them a chance to learn something new. Education without experience is useless. In our current economic condition, even older workers who took time off to get more education found themselves unemployed while those who accepted unemployment (ex-engineers, tool and die workers, draftsmen, and LPN's who now work in Walmart or similar jobs) stayed employed. The real goal of the international companies has been to drop American wages because cheaper educated workers are available overseas via the internet. This is why many maintenance careers, construction careers, and etc. careers are excelling better than those that require formal education; the jobs can't be moved overseas! The internet has also reduced employment in America. Your government will not admit this but this is one reason why America has lost the Global Trade War.

This is what you get when people are more concerned about tests then understanding concepts. When you teach to a test, which is what people in general want, then you don't learn skills. You learn how to pass a test. In todays schools, teachers are graded, hired/fired on testing. If you think that doesn't have an effect on how they teach and what the school enforce you have your head in the sand. People, you are getting what you wanted and these are the results. If you want students to learn skills, have reasonable demands, consequences for the STUDENTS and demand the parents participate. Todays schools are a product of the desire to make students feel good, good public relations and to not get sued. Most teachers know how to teach, but if you fail a student or demand a student participates then watch out.. Many a teacher has been accused of something and then fired when they failed students. If you don't believe me, look on youtube or some related sites and there are plenty. Teachers didn't all of sudden become stupid or stop teaching, there instead stopped being consequences for actions and you get these types of results.

Our country has divided into halves... and I don't mean dems and repubs. It's between those that wake up in the morning and try to make themselves better and those that wake up and don't give a rat's buttocks.

This evening, I walked into the grocery past ginormous tattooed smokers sucking down sugar drinks. They flick their butts and I see my neighbor. This morning I passed him running. Now he is fresh off his 10 hour workday, shopping with his kids to cook a family dinner.

He leaves with a smile a says "hi" to the giant smokers who just grunt.

It's amazing. Blame the teachers. Blame the government. Whatever. I blame the sorry, worthless people who quit on themselves long ago. There are lot these days. But I smile when I see my neighbor. He's got it going on...and every day he gets better.

again a very misleading story that serves the liberals agenda for more money...again its all the way one interprets the stats...the US is a large, homogenous dynamic sample with new immigrants skewing the numbers downward...as in violence stats, pull out certain demographics and we would be closer to japan or sweden...and those immigrants who are skewing the sample may move up the in the stats over time, as new uneducated immigrants move in. does thos mean we are falling behind? this wsj piece is a story written by someone who cant write for those who cant read

I am sick and tired of all these studies about our youth has become academically "dumb." Yes other countries may produce more academic superior students, but who cares!!! Most of these countries with smarter youths have dismal economic performance...think any country in the EU.

In America, we have the only education system that is not limited to getting one chance to complete a secondary education; in most other countries if you don't make it in secondary school you will never have another chance. In the USA you can drop out at 16 go back to get a GED at 20, go to a 2-yr post-secondary school at 25, then complete a 4-year college program at 32 and even get a masters at 40....NOT happening anywhere in the world!!

So let us no longer pay attention to the effete academics who equate academic results with superior national performance. Why do people desire to come to the US...it is because we have the freedom to work long hours to become who we want to be regardless of our education background...and we don't need formal degrees to accomplish our goals.

Most academics find it inconceivable that someone who has dropped out of secondary school could make more than them because they have 4 car repair shops that they have established!!

What we need is more training in political correctness. That way, while the country may no longer be competitive, the people will at least be polite and unobtrusive to their new overseers. Electing Hillary should be all we need to complete the cycle of decline and fall of our once great country.

This is mainly the result of the much "ballyhooed" self esteem movement which has created a generation who think they should be given a prize for just showing up. I tell my students on a regular basis to go home and throw away any trophy that was given for "participation", when the baby boomers were children you were rewarded for results, not just effort.

Countries with the highest academic achievement are countries where science takes precedence over religion. These countries, such as China, South Korea, Japan, Finland and many more don't have a group of religious zealots trying to pass religious beliefs as science. That is why they are getting so far ahead of us in every area.They don't have religious charlatans meddling in education.

Anyone who looks at the results of the last two presidential elections can clearly see the results of the dumbing down of America. This is a far bigger problem than loosing competiveness in world markets. If the next generation does not have the brains to elect good leaders we are in deep trouble.

This is why Obama is reducing the work week to 29 hours. There are just so many lower skill jobs available and they need to be spread amoung a larger and larger number of people. Brilliant solution the problem.

Teacher unions and other education determinists keep insisting mediocre education quality is not teachers’ fault. It’s society’s fault. American kids perform poorly because they don’t have enough healthcare, school counselors, museum visits, money, and parenting. This is an attractive belief for people who want to avoid responsibility. And it’s not fair to blame teachers for the increasing numbers of parents who will not give their children a stable, married home and its requisite emotional and academic structure, but teachers and schools can overcome poverty and neglect. We know because some have, and not at random. For example, giving a child who lags two years behind his peers an excellent teacher (defined as a top-25-percent teacher) four years in a row will catch him up. This would close the nation’s persistent black-white achievement gap.

The achievement gap largely comes down to a vocabulary gap, which means a knowledge gap, because words name things.

Perhaps the best argument against this blame-shifting defeatism has been advanced by self-described liberal and public intellectual E.D. Hirsch Jr. His works collate decades of research into one resounding thesis: The achievement gap between black and white, rich and poor is not due to lack of money. It largely comes down to a vocabulary gap, which means a knowledge gap, because words name things. Perhaps you’ve heard of the 30 million-word gap? Many poor children have a massive vocabulary deficit that modern U.S. education simply does not overcome. (This is largely the fault of parents who put their child in front of the TV or iPad instead of reading him books, but teachers can overcome it.) It’s not the money, it’s the education.

Furthermore, a raft of studies have shown that increasing education spending does not increase student achievement. The latest such study was done last year by Harvard University economists. They compared state education spending and student achievement and found a correlation so small it was statistically insignificant.

All of the privileged snots are here, claiming that their brilliance and hard work are what caused them to do so well. Others don't do well because they're stupid and lazy. In fact, it's such reactionary attitudes which have produced declining skills for so many. Kids who aren't healthy, who don't get enough to eat, who have to go to deteriorating, underfunded schools, and can't afford to attend college probably aren't going to have strong academic skills. If our nation helped people who need help, our test results would be better, but it's much cheaper and more convenient to blame the unfortunate.

"Most of these countries with smarter youths have dismal economic performance...think any country in the EU."

Have you seen the statistics on the US economy since Obama took over? Our economy is becoming as dismal as those of the EU. This appears to be "the new normal."

What had saved the US economy up until the advent of Obama had been the advantages of the free-market economy compared to European socialism. Now that Obama and the county have embraced European socialism in all its "glory" the future looks dim.

Given our emulation of Euro-socialism, and also given our education system, which is clearly worse than the Europeans', I suspect that the US economy will eventually underperform the EU economy by a significant amount.

Roland, You are getting off the main point. The educational system (and other social conditions) are producing kids that are less educated decade after decade. This is not only against other countries but from one generation to another.I felt that this was the case but the statistics confirm how appalling the situation is.

Thank you. in fact almost all the problems with student performance originates in the home and community. Students come from a home that does not read and does not value education, and from a community in which it is unmanly or not feminine to do well in school.

Students from that background rarely succeed in school, and there is very little that the best teacher can do about it. But of course the Tea Party types on this comment board attack the teacher, who falls into the "taker, moocher, loafer" class they hold in contempt. Plus. they hate union members of any kind.

Sorry, Victor. I'm agnostic, but even I don't buy this. While, sure, there are pockets of creationists pushing ID, how does that explain math and literacy scores across the nation? Do you think inner city Chicago schools are failing because of *religion*???

I think the answer is sadly simple - if parents care, children will learn.

I reported your comment because your logic was abusive. South Koreans, as a nation, are highly religious compared to Godless America. Moreover, the within country evidence in the US points to religious homes as having a stronger educational upbringing than non-religious.

29 hours? Is he really? That is a dubious comment to say the least, but it could actually work out to be great. There are a lot of unemployed people, so that will help employ everyone while not over-working anybody. Then we have a lot more free time to enjoy the bountiful material goods we have as a society. We can share all the stuff we need to live and have time to innovate and create things we are passionate about. What a wonderful world that would be to live in. We shall work to live and not live to work! Yeehaw!

Yes, Mr. Beck, I did have help along the way. God was with me at every step. I was never alone. I was privileged with some teachers who knew how to teach, and with a mother who taught me how to read at the beginning when the school system was content to leave me in the poor reading group. And yet college is an experience of learning how to teach oneself; of taking the tools you are exposed to and making the most of what is supplied. But, through it all, God has proved himself faithful. And maybe, that is the greatest mystery of them all, that you might encounter an intellectual Christian, the two are not mutually exclusive.

Thank you, Lawrence. Many of those who comment in this forum just naturally blame the unfortunate.

They think that blaming the unfortunate and their unfortunate parents is sufficient. They do not feel any obligation to try to give those unfortunate persons a hand up.

The thinking of these people is that people are responsible for their own problems. If those people were better people, they wouldn't have the problems. And they are happy to see those societal problems passed from generation to generation, among the underclass.

I don't blame the less fortunate. I blame people like you for what they done to create so many less fortunates. It's your Progressive drivel that brought us Detroit. You comment is filled with lies and distortions. You are an enemy of responsibility and the implementation of your ideas is destroying the country. You and your kind are the enemy with end. Having spent trillions on social programs, the country is now worse off than it was before the launch of the Great Society. Your kind are a plague and a pariah.

Lawrence, the issue isn't with helping people. I love to help people. I tutored underprivileged students in Chicago's southside when I was in college. These kids were bright-eyed and eager to learn, and many were very smart.

My issue is that government help has given way to government waste. Record people are on food stamps. Unemployment insurance has allowed people to simply drop out of the labor force. Kids are told that nothing is their fault if they fail. Successful people are told that, "they didn't build that." The president has 'fundamentally changed America' by blaming success for causing failure. People who don't need a helping hand are given one. They are given incentives to work less and live on the dole more.

There are plenty of people in this country that are truly disadvantaged and deserve a helping hand. I don't think anyone is denying that those people deserve help. But too many people that are simply lazy and have made bad decisions in their life are being told it's not their fault, and that it is the fault of someone else who has been successful. It's pathetic.

This isn't a product of our environment, or of "the privileged snots" having all the advantages. The system can turn out a rich kid idiot just as well as a poor kid genius. America has always had, and will always have the poor. I was the child of a poorer middle-class family who went through times where we had nothing, and where mom had to go to work so we would have food on the table. But, today, I have my graduate degree, an MBA, obtained in my forties simply because of the work ethic I was raised with. I obtained my BA while working full time in healthcare, and then my MBA while working in one of those knowledge-worker healthcare jobs. It's not impossible, and if you set your mind to it, anything can be accomplished. It's this lowest common denominator attitude that is making victims of us all. I went to underfunded grade schools. I attended Junior High and High School where the average classroom had 32 kids. There was no such thing as individual attention. I learned anyway. I am also dyslexic. So, don't continue with this "if our nation helped people who needed help" line of reasoning. It is self-serving and defeatist. We are only limited if we allow ourselves to be limited. Succeeding in this world does not happen only if someone hands it to you. Success happens when you work to make it happen. If I had listened to those who said I was stupid in grade school, the poor reading group, or the others who said I just didn't have what it takes in public school, I would never have graduated Summa Cum Laude in undergrad, nor obtained a 4.0 in grad school. We are only limited if we allow ourselves to be limited.

And your, and your President's, incessant denigration of hard work, sacrifice and responsibility have nothing to do with their animosity? You so-called progressives have created a culture of dependency since the days of LBJ and this is the predictable consequence.

The so-called "privileged snots" have acquiesced in increasing shares of their income being allocated to your hare-brained social schemes. They have funded charities, engaged in civic and religious activities and educated their children. Seriously, how dare you? I am sick to death of you "progressives' who define your personal goodness solely by your willingness to spend other peoples' money.

Craig,I agree with you. The point I was trying to make is that some earlier comments suggest that religious schools provide superior achievement test results. These students do well precisely because their parents care, but it has nothing to do with religious teachings; otherwise how do you explain the high achievement of students around the world who attend secular schools and do better than American students.

Thank you, Mr. Miller. Karl Marx was a brilliant man who provided keen analyses of capitalism. Much of what he said 150 years ago remains useful. For instance, he could tell you why economies throughout the world are in bad shape. Have you heard any halfway plausible theories from the laissez-faire bozos?

Congratulations, Mr. Andresen. You've done well. I wonder how much unacknowledged help you received along the way. If it's true that nobody helped you (which I doubt), I wonder if you might have benefited from some help. Some people, who aren't the paragons you are, still can succeed if they're given a little assistance. What's wrong with that, and what's right with refusing them, and letting them fail and drag down the country?

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